CannaBiz: Michael Lee's trial

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With sometimes-bombastic speeches before City Council, Michael Lee is viewed as something of a wildcard by the medical cannabis industry. But soon, it won't be his personality on trial — it'll be him.

Lee, owner of longtime center Cannabis Therapeutics, is being charged with cultivation of marijuana and tampering with evidence after an investigation by the state Medical Marijuana Enforcement Division.

Inspectors and several geared-up police offers visited in early February. "She was really not very polite — rude, barking orders from the beginning," says Lee of the inspector. "She pulled 48 pounds of edibles out of my freezer and said she's gonna charge me with being 55 pounds over in weight [in addition to seized plants], because this is 48 pounds of it. I said oils and concentrates do not count in any of the weight against you." Spokeswoman Julie Postlethwait says in a follow-up call with the Indy that if labeled with the amount of marijuana in the edible, it counts; if not, not. An employee says Lee's were labeled.

Paperwork disputes also followed. Later in the week, the inspector returned with police to seize his DVRs. Lee says he then received multiple calls from the police to come retrieve the DVRs, but each time he arrived they put him off, until the fifth time Feb. 14, when he was arrested and jailed upon trying to leave. Colorado Springs Police Department spokeswoman Barbara Miller says one call was made, and that officers in the evidence department always check people for a warrant.

As a result, Lee has retained local defense attorney Kevin Donovan and consultant Matt Cook, who helped create the MMED. He also plans to sue the city in civil court, assuming all goes well with his trial, which begins on Monday, March 5, at 9:30 a.m.

Keef crumbs

• Education News Colorado has created an interactive map that displays every school in the state and each medical marijuana center. If you're curious about whether a given center could be targeted in the next round of U.S. Attorney letters, see tinyurl.com/mmjmap.

• The trial of leukemia sufferer and MMJ patient Bob Crouse will run even longer, as the date has been pushed out to June 4.

• Senate Bill 117, the THC driving-limit bill introduced for the second year in a row, passed its first test in the State, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee by a vote of 4-1, reports Westword. Its next stop is the Senate Appropriations Committee.